Need help to beat cancer 4th time!!
Donation protected
Hello my name is Christopher MacKenn. For the last 5 years I have been fighting cancer, and by the grace of God I have been victorious in battle 3 times now, but I am facing it yet again for a 4th and I would deeply appreciate your help.
The goal of this campaign is to help with the bills that I am unable to afford due to my long arduous struggle with cancer, and to hopefully be able to acquire stable and longterm housing. I ask that God puts it on your heart to help, whether it be with a donation or by sharing my story with someone else. I pray that I can inspire you in some way and help you get through some struggle or issue you are facing. The key is to stay positive and keep fighting.
Having a place to call home has always been an issue for me. It is hard to keep a roof over my head when I am unable to work and spend as much time in the hospital as I do. Any donations that go towards a house will go towards something enviromentally friendly with a very low upkeep cost. And I will not forget to give to God what is his!
Here is my story.
My life has been a long series of beat-downs and recoveries. I moved out my mothers house when I was 18 and started my life, energetic and determined to make something of myself having dreams and grandiose plans to make those dreams come true. I knew th Looking back now it is evident how much grace and blessing God had bestowed upon me.
I have always been gainfully employed as long as I wanted to be. Whenever there was a serious need in my life God made sure it was mett. I was originally diagnosed with cancer at the age of 19. At that time I was employed full-time at an organ store in the mall making minimum wage meanwhile paying for dance lessons $100 each so I could become a dance instructor and fullfil my dream of owning my own studio. The studio I was taking lessons at was not hiring, nor was the other nearby studio. I attended a competition in hopes of getting a job at one of the others, I talked to multiple studio owners and set an interview with one of them. On a Friday I rode my motorcycle 2 and a half hours accross the state for an interview. Monday I recieved a call from the studio telling me I was hired, after months of training, countless hours practicing, and every spare penny I could muster I finally got a job at a dance studio.on Tuesday I recieved a call from my doctor telling me I have cancer. I cried for two days, not because I had cancer, but because I had to reject the job I worked so hard to obtain.
I had become ill with a cold and had a small stabbing pain in my chest whenever I breathed in deep, and with my history of asthma and the cold weather I did not give it much thought. Also with my limited finances seeing a doctor was out of the question. However, by the grace of the Lord, one of the students at the studio I was taking lessons at was married to a doctor. She offered to have him examine me pro-bono. I called his office and scheduled the appointment. When I saw him he did the normal examination routine. Then he got to the turn your head and cough part. He started feeling my throat followed by my neck, where his face frowned.
He finished the physical exam then asked me a few questions. How long were there lumps in my neck? I replied, "About couple months or so, why?' He ignored my question and asked if I had lost any weight recently and if I had nightsweats or was exhausted. I responded with, " Yeah I have been trying to lose weight! I am down about 30 lbs in the last 2 months doc! I work out every day, so I am tired a lot, and its Florida, I don't have air conditioning so yeah I sweat a little bit at night.'He looks at me and says, 'I think you have cancer, those are the signs, lumps in your neck, weightloss, nightsweats and exhaustion.'
He called in a favor to a surgeon and offered to pay for my biopsy if I was unable to afford it. Thanks to God I was able to obtain medicaid that covered the cost, but he was such a generous man, he would have paid for my my operation out of his pocket. The surgeon then called in a favor to an oncologist that had treated him for cancer, and after a few tests and scans I finally recieved the call where I was informed that I had Stage II Hodgekins Lymphoma.
If it was not for the will and grace of God, I would have gone untreated for who knows how long because my life actions were masking my symptoms of cancer. I was purposefully exercising daily, working out, dancing, and had a full time job. So I was always tired and purposefully losing weight. I did not have a/c so it was always hot when I slept, so sweating was nothing special, the lumps in my neck did not hurt so I thought nothing of them.
After going through chemo for 6 months I was declared in remission. I then devoted my life to getting back what was taken from me, a job as a dance instructor. God works in mysterious ways, while I was undergoing treatment I played a lot of World of Warcraft. I was trying to make spare cash making websites for guilds in the game. I responded to an ad on craigslist, and it so happened that my client was best friends with a dance studio owner. He put in a word for me and I went for an interview as soon as I was healthy enough. The studio was not hiring at the time so I was placed in a training class. I was disheartened that I could not get hired, but at least I was getting training for free and not paying for it anymore!!!
I traveled an hour twice a week for training classes. After about 2 months, one of the instructors broke a leg playing soccer. I was then hired as his replacement. Like I said, God works in mysterious ways. I was always angry. Why did I get cancer? I am only 19. Why did I have to go through tha? Why Lord? Why the pain, the agony, and the suffering? Why me!? But God had a plan for me. If I had not gotten cancer, I would not have met that person on craigslist, I would not have recieved the referral. I would not have been hired for that job. Which turned out to be a better job than the one I was offered a year earlier. Better pay, closer to home, and a better studio. The other studio went out of business not long after I started my treatments.
Thanks be to God, I was now living my dream. Getting PAID to do the thing I enjoyed most, teaching dance. I put every ounce of my being into my job, I worked my hardest to achieve my goal and become the #1 dance instructor, and with God's help I made it happen. I started working in October, and cultivated a good student body so that when the new year came and charts were wiped clean I was able to achieve 1st place. In February our studio participated in a dance competition. After only working in the franchise for 5 months I took 6th place top teacher and my student took 1st place in her category. It was the happiest moment in my life.
The following months were very fruitful. I was continually striving to improve myself, my skills as a dancer, my personal social skills, and my student body. The studio owner and I became very good friends, and had started to train me to become a manager so he could open a second studio. Management was a something I had always wanted, even at my previous job. and it was a necessary step for my final goal of owning a studio.
Before the cancer I had a very good credit history, but after the cancer it became very bad. Everything I had fell behind, checking accounts overdrafted, my motorcycle was in collections, my credit cards were charged to the maximum and closed, nothing got through unscathed. I had finally got my debts caught up, had a few thousand dollars saved in the bank, when one day I noticed a few lumps in my neck again. I went back to the doctor and we ran tests, my cancer had returned.
My wonderful boss let me live with him while I went through my second battle . His mom had passed away due to cancer so he had a soft spot in his heart. He also said that as soon as I was healthy again I could have my job back, and when the time came he was true to his word. During the second fight with cancer my finances were again depleted and I fell behind on my bills. It was a very dark and lonely time for me. I was broke, depressed, and unhappy because I was lonely, and people did not want to be around me because I was so depressing to be around.
I have spent the last 8 hours writing this memoir. I am posting it and will return to finish it soon. If my story has inspired you, or touched you in some way. Please donate.
The goal of this campaign is to help with the bills that I am unable to afford due to my long arduous struggle with cancer, and to hopefully be able to acquire stable and longterm housing. I ask that God puts it on your heart to help, whether it be with a donation or by sharing my story with someone else. I pray that I can inspire you in some way and help you get through some struggle or issue you are facing. The key is to stay positive and keep fighting.
Having a place to call home has always been an issue for me. It is hard to keep a roof over my head when I am unable to work and spend as much time in the hospital as I do. Any donations that go towards a house will go towards something enviromentally friendly with a very low upkeep cost. And I will not forget to give to God what is his!
Here is my story.
My life has been a long series of beat-downs and recoveries. I moved out my mothers house when I was 18 and started my life, energetic and determined to make something of myself having dreams and grandiose plans to make those dreams come true. I knew th Looking back now it is evident how much grace and blessing God had bestowed upon me.
I have always been gainfully employed as long as I wanted to be. Whenever there was a serious need in my life God made sure it was mett. I was originally diagnosed with cancer at the age of 19. At that time I was employed full-time at an organ store in the mall making minimum wage meanwhile paying for dance lessons $100 each so I could become a dance instructor and fullfil my dream of owning my own studio. The studio I was taking lessons at was not hiring, nor was the other nearby studio. I attended a competition in hopes of getting a job at one of the others, I talked to multiple studio owners and set an interview with one of them. On a Friday I rode my motorcycle 2 and a half hours accross the state for an interview. Monday I recieved a call from the studio telling me I was hired, after months of training, countless hours practicing, and every spare penny I could muster I finally got a job at a dance studio.on Tuesday I recieved a call from my doctor telling me I have cancer. I cried for two days, not because I had cancer, but because I had to reject the job I worked so hard to obtain.
I had become ill with a cold and had a small stabbing pain in my chest whenever I breathed in deep, and with my history of asthma and the cold weather I did not give it much thought. Also with my limited finances seeing a doctor was out of the question. However, by the grace of the Lord, one of the students at the studio I was taking lessons at was married to a doctor. She offered to have him examine me pro-bono. I called his office and scheduled the appointment. When I saw him he did the normal examination routine. Then he got to the turn your head and cough part. He started feeling my throat followed by my neck, where his face frowned.
He finished the physical exam then asked me a few questions. How long were there lumps in my neck? I replied, "About couple months or so, why?' He ignored my question and asked if I had lost any weight recently and if I had nightsweats or was exhausted. I responded with, " Yeah I have been trying to lose weight! I am down about 30 lbs in the last 2 months doc! I work out every day, so I am tired a lot, and its Florida, I don't have air conditioning so yeah I sweat a little bit at night.'He looks at me and says, 'I think you have cancer, those are the signs, lumps in your neck, weightloss, nightsweats and exhaustion.'
He called in a favor to a surgeon and offered to pay for my biopsy if I was unable to afford it. Thanks to God I was able to obtain medicaid that covered the cost, but he was such a generous man, he would have paid for my my operation out of his pocket. The surgeon then called in a favor to an oncologist that had treated him for cancer, and after a few tests and scans I finally recieved the call where I was informed that I had Stage II Hodgekins Lymphoma.
If it was not for the will and grace of God, I would have gone untreated for who knows how long because my life actions were masking my symptoms of cancer. I was purposefully exercising daily, working out, dancing, and had a full time job. So I was always tired and purposefully losing weight. I did not have a/c so it was always hot when I slept, so sweating was nothing special, the lumps in my neck did not hurt so I thought nothing of them.
After going through chemo for 6 months I was declared in remission. I then devoted my life to getting back what was taken from me, a job as a dance instructor. God works in mysterious ways, while I was undergoing treatment I played a lot of World of Warcraft. I was trying to make spare cash making websites for guilds in the game. I responded to an ad on craigslist, and it so happened that my client was best friends with a dance studio owner. He put in a word for me and I went for an interview as soon as I was healthy enough. The studio was not hiring at the time so I was placed in a training class. I was disheartened that I could not get hired, but at least I was getting training for free and not paying for it anymore!!!
I traveled an hour twice a week for training classes. After about 2 months, one of the instructors broke a leg playing soccer. I was then hired as his replacement. Like I said, God works in mysterious ways. I was always angry. Why did I get cancer? I am only 19. Why did I have to go through tha? Why Lord? Why the pain, the agony, and the suffering? Why me!? But God had a plan for me. If I had not gotten cancer, I would not have met that person on craigslist, I would not have recieved the referral. I would not have been hired for that job. Which turned out to be a better job than the one I was offered a year earlier. Better pay, closer to home, and a better studio. The other studio went out of business not long after I started my treatments.
Thanks be to God, I was now living my dream. Getting PAID to do the thing I enjoyed most, teaching dance. I put every ounce of my being into my job, I worked my hardest to achieve my goal and become the #1 dance instructor, and with God's help I made it happen. I started working in October, and cultivated a good student body so that when the new year came and charts were wiped clean I was able to achieve 1st place. In February our studio participated in a dance competition. After only working in the franchise for 5 months I took 6th place top teacher and my student took 1st place in her category. It was the happiest moment in my life.
The following months were very fruitful. I was continually striving to improve myself, my skills as a dancer, my personal social skills, and my student body. The studio owner and I became very good friends, and had started to train me to become a manager so he could open a second studio. Management was a something I had always wanted, even at my previous job. and it was a necessary step for my final goal of owning a studio.
Before the cancer I had a very good credit history, but after the cancer it became very bad. Everything I had fell behind, checking accounts overdrafted, my motorcycle was in collections, my credit cards were charged to the maximum and closed, nothing got through unscathed. I had finally got my debts caught up, had a few thousand dollars saved in the bank, when one day I noticed a few lumps in my neck again. I went back to the doctor and we ran tests, my cancer had returned.
My wonderful boss let me live with him while I went through my second battle . His mom had passed away due to cancer so he had a soft spot in his heart. He also said that as soon as I was healthy again I could have my job back, and when the time came he was true to his word. During the second fight with cancer my finances were again depleted and I fell behind on my bills. It was a very dark and lonely time for me. I was broke, depressed, and unhappy because I was lonely, and people did not want to be around me because I was so depressing to be around.
I have spent the last 8 hours writing this memoir. I am posting it and will return to finish it soon. If my story has inspired you, or touched you in some way. Please donate.
Organizer
Christopher MacKenn
Organizer
Cape Coral, FL
